The present invention relates to trailers and more particularly to a trailer having a bracket insert that retains pneumatic, electrical, hydraulic or other conduits associated with the trailer.
Van-type trailers typically include a deck assembly supported by a sidewall structure, wheels and retractable front legs. The deck assembly often includes longitudinal floorboards and transverse cross-members, such as I-beams, extending between opposing bottom rails of the side walls. The deck transfers its load to the bottom rails, wheels and, depending on whether the trailer is coupled to a tractor or is free-standing, to tractor wheels or the front legs.
While flatbed trailers also often include a deck assembly with a floor and transverse cross members, they do not have a monocoque structure. Instead, the flatbed deck is typically supported by longitudinal beams supported by the wheels and retractable legs so that the load received by the deck is transferred to the wheels through the beams.
Trailers typically require conduits comprising or carrying electrical, pneumatic and/or other lines to various trailer systems. Accordingly, it has been known in the art to provide channeled cavities within the trailer's deck assembly to receive the various conduits and connectors. It has also been known to provide grommetted holes in I-beam cross members through which conduits are passed longitudinally along the trailer side. One specific example of a device that retains trailer conduits in a fixed position within a housing is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,948 to Ehrlich, incorporated herein by reference.